Methods and systems for tailoring an extended reality overlay object

ABSTRACT

An exemplary extended reality presentation system determines that a depiction of an augmentable object within a field of view takes up a first portion of the field of view, and, in response to this determination, presents a first form of an overlay object within the field of view. The first form of the overlay object is graphically associated with the augmentable object. During the presenting of the first form of the overlay object within the field of view, the system determines that the depiction of the augmentable object has come to take up a second portion of the field of view, and, in response to this determination, replaces the first form of the overlay object with a second form of the overlay object within the field of view. The second form of the overlay object is distinct from the first form. Corresponding methods and systems are also disclosed.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 16/261,058, filed Jan. 29, 2019, and entitled“Methods and Systems for Automatically Tailoring a Form of an ExtendedReality Overlay Object,” which is hereby incorporated by reference inits entirety.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Extended reality technologies such as virtual reality technologies,mixed reality technologies, augmented reality technologies, and soforth, allow users to experience extended reality worlds. For instance,in some examples, users may experience an extended reality worldimplemented as an augmented version of the real world using a mixed oraugmented reality technology (e.g., using an augmented reality mobiledevice, wearing augmented reality glasses or contact lenses, etc.). Inother examples, users may experience a completely simulated version ofthe real world or of an imaginary world using a virtual realitytechnology (e.g., using virtual reality goggles or the like). In theseor other ways, extended reality technologies may thus provide users withan improved version of reality and/or a variety of entertainment,educational, vocational, and/or other enjoyable or valuable experiencesthat may be difficult or inconvenient for the users to obtain otherwise.

In various examples, certain real or simulated objects presented in anextended reality world may be augmented by being graphically associatedwith (e.g., overlaid with, integrated with, replaced by, etc.) simulatedor virtual objects referred to herein as “overlay objects.” Overlayobjects may be presented in conjunction with other objects included inthe extended reality world (e.g., real objects in the real world) inorder to provide the user with more information about the other objectsor to otherwise add value to the user's perception of the world.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings illustrate various embodiments and are a partof the specification. The illustrated embodiments are merely examplesand do not limit the scope of the disclosure. Throughout the drawings,identical or similar reference numbers designate identical or similarelements.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary extended reality presentation system forautomatically tailoring a form of an extended reality overlay objectaccording to principles described herein.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary user experiencing an exemplary extendedreality experience using the extended reality presentation system ofFIG. 1 according to principles described herein.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary configuration within which the extendedreality presentation system of FIG. 1 may operate according toprinciples described herein.

FIGS. 4A-4D illustrate exemplary fields of view into an extended realityexperience that includes a set of objects comprising an augmentableobject with which different forms of different overlay objects aregraphically associated according to principles described herein.

FIGS. 5A-5B illustrate exemplary portions of exemplary fields of viewaccording to principles described herein.

FIGS. 6A-6D illustrate various exemplary forms of an overlay objectgraphically associated with an augmentable object as the augmentableobject moves to different apparent proximities to a user according toprinciples described herein.

FIG. 7 illustrates exemplary preview forms of different overlay objectsthat are to be graphically associated with augmentable objects not yetvisible in the field of view according to principles described herein.

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary extended reality presentation method forautomatically tailoring an extended reality overlay object according toprinciples described herein.

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary computing device according to principlesdescribed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Extended reality presentation systems for automatically tailoring a formof an extended reality overlay object based on an apparent proximity ofan augmentable object to a user are described herein. For example, oneembodiment of such an extended reality presentation system may present,to a user, a field of view into an extended reality world, and mayidentify an augmentable object from a set of objects presented in thefield of view. In response to this identifying of the augmentableobject, the extended reality presentation system may determine that theaugmentable object is located at a first apparent proximity to the user,and, in response, may present within the field of view a first form ofan overlay object graphically associated with the augmentable object.The first form of the overlay object may be tailored, in certainexamples, to the first apparent proximity of the augmentable object tothe user.

Subsequent to the determining that the augmentable object is located atthe first apparent proximity, the extended reality presentation systemmay determine that the augmentable object has come to be located at asecond apparent proximity to the user (e.g., an apparent proximitydistinct from the first apparent proximity due to movement by either orboth of the augmentable object and the vantage point of the user). Inresponse to the determining that the augmentable object has come to belocated at the second apparent proximity, the extended realitypresentation system may replace, within the field of view, the firstform of the overlay object with a second form of the overlay objectdistinct from the first form and tailored to the second apparentproximity. Various details of different forms of different overlayobjects that may be presented in conjunction with augmentable objects atdifferent apparent proximities to the user will be described in moredetail below.

Implementations of extended reality presentation systems describedherein may provide various advantages and benefits when compared toconventional extended reality presentation systems. Conventionally, onlya single form of an overlay object to be graphically associated orotherwise displayed in connection with an augmentable object in anextended reality world is available for display. In some examples, thistype of overlay object may be a constant or manually-alterable scale(e.g., apparent size) in relation to the field of view being used topresent the overlay object, such that the overlay object does not changein scale even if the augmentable object does. In other examples, thistype of overlay object may be a constant or manually-alterable scale inrelation to the augmentable object itself, such that the overlay objectgrows larger and smaller based on the apparent size of the augmentableobject in the field of view. Unfortunately, neither of theseconventional scenarios involves any tailoring of the form of the overlayobject based on apparent proximity or any other factor.

To help remedy this, methods and systems described herein are configuredto automatically tailor the form of overlay objects based on theapparent proximity of augmentable objects to users, therebysignificantly improving on conventional extended reality technologies.For example, while conventional systems with fixed-scale overlay objectsdo not closely associate overlay objects with augmentable objects thatchange in apparent proximity to the user (e.g., and thereby change inscale in the field of view), extended reality presentation methods andsystems described herein closely and clearly associate overlay objectswith the augmentable objects even as the apparent proximities of theaugmentable objects dynamically change (e.g., by resizing the overlayobjects to match the augmentable objects). At the same time, in contrastto conventional systems with variable-scale overlay objects, the overlayobjects presented by methods and systems described herein not only varyin scale with the apparent proximity of the augmentable objects, butalso vary in form so as to be appropriate and useful for any particularapparent proximity of the augmentable object.

For instance, if an augmentable object is far away (and thus presentedas a small object within the field of view), the methods and systemsdescribed herein may use a basic, abbreviated form of the overlay objectthat can be fully appreciated (e.g., clearly read, easily viewed, etc.)by the user, rather than by shrinking down a form of the overlay objectthat is intended for closer viewing (e.g., and thus that may not be ableto be clearly read or fully appreciated from a distance). As anotherexample, if the augmentable object comes closer to the user (so as to bepresented on a larger portion of the field of view), the methods andsystems described herein may use a different or more detailed form ofthe overlay object that is more appropriate and tailored to the closerapparent proximity. For example, additional information (e.g., text,graphics, links, videos, etc.) not included on the basic form of theoverlay object may be included on a form of the overlay object used whenthe augmentable object is more proximate to the user even though suchinformation may not be appreciable when the augmentable object isrelatively far away from the user. As will be described in more detailbelow, the first and second forms of the overlay object may beimplemented or conceptualized, respectively, as a first overlay objectassociated with the augmentable object and a second, separate overlayobject that is also associated with the augmentable object and thatreplaces the first overlay object under certain circumstances (e.g.,based on the apparent proximity of the augmentable object). Contentdepicted by these first and second overlay objects (i.e., the first andsecond forms of the overlay object associated with the augmentableobject) may relate to the augmentable object in any suitable way, aswill be described in more detail below.

An additional benefit of the methods and systems described hereinbecomes apparent when the augmentable object comes in very closeproximity to the user. In this example, conventional systems that scalea single form of an overlay object to remain constant with the size ofthe augmentable object may actually be inefficient or burdensome tousers. For instance, when the augmentable object is in very closeproximity to the user, information intended for viewing at anintermediate distance may be presented in a manner that makes it harderfor the user to appreciate the content (e.g., by including text toolarge to read at a glance, graphics that fill nearly the entire field ofview, etc.) and/or may be presented at the expense of other (potentiallymore useful) information. By providing different forms of the overlayobject based on differences in apparent proximity (e.g., differences inaugmentable object scale in the field of view), overlay information maybe made to be closely associated with corresponding augmentable objectswhile including an optimal amount of information, presented in anoptimal way, so as to be appreciable by and helpful to the user.

Various embodiments will now be described in more detail with referenceto the figures. The disclosed systems and methods may provide one ormore of the benefits mentioned above and/or various additional and/oralternative benefits that will be made apparent herein.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary extended reality presentation system 100(“system 100”) for automatically tailoring a form of an extended realityoverlay object based on an apparent proximity of an augmentable objectto a user. Specifically, as shown, system 100 may include, withoutlimitation, a storage facility 102 and a processing facility 104selectively and communicatively coupled to one another. Facilities 102and 104 may each include or be implemented by hardware and/or softwarecomponents (e.g., processors, memories, communication interfaces,instructions stored in memory for execution by the processors, etc.). Insome examples, facilities 102 and 104 may be distributed betweenmultiple devices and/or multiple locations as may serve a particularimplementation. Each of facilities 102 and 104 within system 100 willnow be described in more detail.

Storage facility 102 may maintain (e.g., store) executable data used byprocessing facility 104 to perform any of the functionality describedherein. For example, storage facility 102 may store instructions 106that may be executed by processing facility 104. Instructions 106 may beexecuted by processing facility 104 to perform any of the functionalitydescribed herein, and may be implemented by any suitable application,software, code, and/or other executable data instance. Additionally,storage facility 102 may also maintain any other data received,generated, managed, used, and/or transmitted by processing facility 104in a particular implementation.

Processing facility 104 may be configured to perform (e.g., executeinstructions 106 stored in storage facility 102 to perform) variousfunctions associated with automatically tailoring the form of overlayobjects based on apparent proximities of augmentable objects to users.For example, processing facility 104 may be configured to present, to auser, a field of view into an extended reality world. To this end,processing facility 104 may include or be otherwise associated with anytype of transparent, semi-transparent, or non-transparent device (e.g.,lens, display screen, etc.) through which or upon which the user mayview the extended reality world. For example, the device may beconfigured to present the extended reality world to the user as aheads-up display (e.g., a viewer worn directly in front of the user'seyes and allowing the user to move his or her head freely whilecontinuously seeing the display, a projection onto a transparent displayin front of an operator of a vehicle, etc.), a handheld display, and/orany other type of display as may serve a particular implementation.

As the field of view into the extended reality world is presented to theuser, processing facility 104 may identify an augmentable object from aset of objects presented in the field of view. For example, theaugmentable object may be an object or pattern in the world that isrecognizable to system 100 and that system 100 is configured to augmentin any of the ways described herein (e.g., by replacing a target area ofthe augmentable object with a virtual overlay object, etc.). In responseto the identifying of the augmentable object, processing facility 104may determine that the augmentable object is located at a first apparentproximity to the user, and, in response, may present within the field ofview a first form of an overlay object graphically associated with theaugmentable object. The first form may be tailored to the first apparentproximity in suitable way, examples of which will be described in moredetail below. For example, if the first apparent proximity is arelatively far proximity (e.g., such that the augmentable object isrelatively far away from the user and hence is displayed on a relativelysmall portion of the field of view), the first form of the overlayobject may be a relatively simple and basic form of the overlay objectwith minimal content (e.g., minimal text, few if any graphics andinteractive elements, etc.) that can be appreciated by the user from therelatively far proximity.

Subsequent to the determining that the augmentable object is located atthe first apparent proximity, processing facility 104 may determine thatthe augmentable object has come to be located at a second apparentproximity to the user. The second apparent proximity may be distinctfrom the first apparent proximity. For example, if the first apparentproximity was relatively far, the second apparent proximity may berelatively close (i.e., such that the augmentable object is relativelyclose to the user and hence is displayed on a relatively large portionof the field of view). In response to the determining that theaugmentable object has come to be located at the second apparentproximity, processing facility 104 may replace, within the field ofview, the first form of the overlay object with a second form of theoverlay object distinct from the first form and tailored to the secondapparent proximity. For example, if the first form of the overlay objectwas tailored to the first (relatively far) apparent proximity by being arelatively simple and basic form of the overlay object with minimalcontent, the second form of the overlay object may be tailored to thesecond (relatively close) apparent proximity by being a more detailedand/or complex form of the overlay object with a greater amount and/ordifferent type of content (e.g., a larger amount of more meaningfultext, a greater number of more detailed graphics and/or interactiveelements, etc.) that can be appreciated by the user from the relativelyclose proximity.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary user 202 experiencing an exemplaryextended reality world 204 using system 100. Specifically, as shown,user 202 may view extended reality world 204 using a display screen 206that is associated with (e.g., included as part of) system 100. Displayscreen 206 may present a field of view to user 202. Within the field ofview, a set of objects of extended reality world 204 may be included.For instance, as illustrated, the set of objects may include one or moreobjects 208, some of which, such as an augmentable object 210, may bereferred to as “augmentable objects.” Each of these elements of FIG. 2will now be described in more detail.

Extended reality world 204 may include or be implemented by any suitabletype of world as may be experienced by user 202 using any suitable typeof extended reality technology. For instance, in certain examples,system 100 may be implemented as a mixed reality presentation system andextended reality world 204 may comprise an augmented version of areal-world environment in which user 202 is located. In such mixedreality examples, objects 208 and 210 within extended reality world 204may be actual real-world objects in the vicinity of user 202 in the realworld that user 202 may view (e.g., through a transparent,semi-transparent or video pass-through implementation of display screen206) as user 202 navigates his or her life in the real world. However,as will be described in more detail below, certain objects such asaugmentable object 210 may also be augmented by system 100 (e.g., and bydisplay screen 206, in particular) such that the objects appeardifferent in extended reality world 204 than in the non-augmented realworld user 202 would experience without system 100. Such mixed realitytechnology may be related to, similar to, or interchangeable with othertechnologies such as augmented reality technologies.

In other examples, system 100 may be implemented as a virtual realitypresentation system and extended reality world 204 may comprise avirtual world that may be based on the real world (e.g., a real-worldscene other than the real-world environment in which user 202 islocated) or based on an imaginary or simulated world. In such virtualreality examples, objects 208 and 210 within extended reality world 204may be virtual objects in the vicinity of user 202 in the virtual worldpresented to user 202 by an implementation of display screen 206 that isnon-transparent and thereby fully controls the content presented to theeyes of user 202 during a virtual reality experience. As such, thevirtual objects presented by display screen 206 may be based onreal-world objects (e.g., real-world objects from a real-world scenebeing represented and that is distinct from the real-world environmentin which user 202 is located) or simulated objects (e.g., virtualizedobjects from an imaginary virtual scene being represented). As will bedescribed in more detail below, certain objects such as augmentableobject 210 may also be augmented by system 100 (e.g., by display screen206, in particular) such that the objects appear different in extendedreality world 204 than in a non-augmented version of the world such asthe real-world scene upon which extended reality world 204 may be based.

Display screen 206 may be any suitable type of display screenimplemented using any suitable display or presentation technology,including technologies involving transparent or semi-transparentmaterials that allow light to pass through the display screen withlittle or no effect. In some examples, as shown in FIG. 2, displayscreen 206 may be implemented as a heads-up display screen that ismounted or worn on the head of user 202 so as to be presented directlyin front of the eyes of user 202 even as user 202 turns his or her headto look in different directions and so forth. For instance, displayscreen 206 may be implemented as a pair of augmented reality glasses orcontact lenses, or another suitable heads-up display that may or may notinclude a transparent or semi-transparent medium upon which content maybe projected or otherwise displayed (e.g., a pixelated display screen, alight-field display screen, etc.). In these examples, display screen 206may provide a view of one or more overlay objects integrated with thereal-world environment within a field of view presented to user 202 bythe heads-up display screen. For example, one or more overlay objectsmay be projected to replace (e.g., overlay) the view of an augmentableobject such as augmentable object 210 or to be otherwise graphicallyassociated therewith (e.g., by being overlaid onto content displayedadjacent to augmentable object 210, etc.).

In other examples, display screen 206 may be implemented by another typeof display screen that is not a heads-up display screen (not explicitlyshown in FIG. 2). For instance, display screen 206 may be a handhelddisplay screen such as the display screen of a handheld mobile device(e.g., a smartphone, a tablet device, etc.), a stationary computermonitor, or another display screen as may serve a particularimplementation. In these examples, display screen 206 may be opaque,rather than transparent or semi-transparent, but may likewise presentoverlay objects integrated with scenery from the extended reality worldin a similar way.

Imagery of extended reality world 204 may be received, captured, and/orpresented to user 202 in any manner as may serve a particularimplementation of display screen 206. For instance, if display screen206 is a transparent or partially transparent display screen, imageryrepresentative of extended reality world 204 (and objects includedtherein) may be received and presented by light passing through thetransparent or semitransparent medium of display screen 206 to the eyesof user 202. In contrast, if display screen 206 does not include atransparent or partially transparent display screen, but, instead, is anopaque screen, imagery of extended reality world 204 may be captured inreal time by an imaging device (e.g., a camera) associated with system100, may be received from another system (e.g., a three-dimensional(“3D”) game server, etc.), or may be otherwise generated and/or receivedby system 100 in any suitable manner.

Objects 208 may represent any suitable set of objects that make upimagery visible in a field of view presented by display screen 206. Insome examples, a plurality of objects will be presented in the field ofview at the same time. For instance, if user 202 is waiting for a bus ata bus stop, the field of view presented by display screen 206 mayinclude objects such as the street in front of the bus stop, vehiclesdriving on the street, buildings and landscaping (e.g., trees, shrubs,etc.) along the street, and so forth. Eventually, one object presentedwithin the field of view in this example may be a bus that approachesand pulls up to the bus stop. At this point, the bus or another suchlarge object may come so close as to fill the entirety of the field ofview such that the “set of objects” presented in the field of view is,at least temporarily, a single-object set (e.g., that includes the busas the only object in the set).

Among objects 208 in extended reality world 204, one or more augmentableobjects such as augmentable object 210 may also be included. Augmentableobjects will be understood to be a special category of objects that maybe included within extended reality world 204 in the sense thataugmentable objects may be recognized and treated differently from otherobjects by system 100. For example, any object in the extended realityworld that system 100 is configured to recognize, identify, and/oraugment (e.g., replace with an overlay object, present along with anoverlay object, etc.) may be referred to herein as an augmentableobject.

Depending on the nature of extended reality world 204 and the use casescenario within which system 100 is being used, objects 208 andaugmentable object 210 may be implemented in various ways and by varioustypes of objects. A few non-limiting examples of such use case scenarioswill now be described.

In one use case scenario, objects 208 may be the street, vehicle,buildings, and landscaping around the bus stop described above, whileaugmentable object 210 may be the bus itself, which may be augmentedwith an overlay object that provides relevant information regarding thebus (e.g., the bus schedule, the bus route, an advertisement or offerassociated with the bus, etc.).

Another use case scenario may involve personnel in a workplace (e.g., afactory, an office building, etc.). In this scenario, objects 208 may bevarious inanimate objects located around the workplace, whileaugmentable object 210 may be a specific person in the workplace. Ifuser 202 is a manager on a factory floor, for instance, it may bedesirable for user 202 to be able to locate specific people on thefactory floor and to quickly gauge the personnel situation on the floorat a particular time. As such, each worker on the floor may be augmentedwith an overlay object relaying the identity of the worker and relevantinformation associated with the worker (e.g., when the worker's shiftbegan and/or ends, what skills and/or preferences the worker has, etc.).

Still other use case scenarios may involve augmenting informationalcontent (e.g., signs, advertisements, etc.) that exists in extendedreality world 204. For instance, objects 208 may be vehicles on ahighway and augmentable object 210 may be a road sign indicating aparticular highway exit or the like. In this example, system 100 mayaugment the road sign to not only indicate an exit number and associatedsurface street, but to further indicate points of interest (e.g.,restaurants, gas stations, etc.) that may be found if the exit is taken.Similarly, objects 208 may be buildings and objects along a street andaugmentable object 210 may be a sign associated with a point of interestsuch as a restaurant, a store, a theater or concert venue, a sportsvenue, or the like. In these examples, the sign may be augmented to notonly include the name of the point of interest, but to also provideother information such special menu items in the restaurant, sale itemsand offers in the store, shows and/or showtimes being presented at thetheater, a score of a sporting event taking place at the sports venue,or the like.

While the above use case scenarios illustrate a few possibilities forhow extended reality technologies may improve and facilitate theexperience of user 202 in a few exemplary types of extended realityworlds, it will be understood that the methods and systems describedherein for automatically tailoring a form of an extended reality overlayobject may be employed in these and/or any various other suitableextended reality use case scenarios.

As mentioned above, system 100 and display screen 206 may be associatedwith one another in any suitable way. For instance, system 100 mayinclude display screen 206 as one of multiple elements of system 100(e.g., along with one or more non-head-mounted components of system 100)in certain examples, while computing components integrated into displayscreen 206 may fully or partially implement system 100 in otherexamples. In still other examples, system 100 may be separate from, butcommunicatively coupled with, display screen 206 such that system 100may direct to some degree what is to be shown in the field of view ofdisplay screen 206.

Regardless of the relationship between system 100 and display screen206, one or more sensors may be integrated with either or both of system100 and display screen 206 for performing object identification tasks(e.g., identifying augmentable object 210 from the set of objects 208 inthe field of view), movement tracking tasks (e.g., tracking augmentableobject 210 as augmentable object 210 moves within the field of view),and so forth. For example, the one or more sensors may include imagecapture sensors (e.g., camera devices, etc.), locational orgeolocational sensors (e.g., Global Positioning System (“GPS”) sensors,etc.), motion sensors, smart tags, and so forth.

To illustrate various ways that system 100 may be implemented, FIG. 3shows an exemplary configuration 300 within which system 100 mayoperate. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, user 202 may use displayscreen 206 to experience extended reality world 204 in the waysdescribed above in relation to FIG. 2. However, whereas FIG. 2illustrated system 100 as a single component associated with displayscreen 206 (e.g., built into display screen 206, communicatively coupledwith display screen 206, etc.), configuration 300 shows more explicitlyhow system 100 may be distributed over one or more of an extendedreality provider system 302, a network-edge-deployed server 306, and anextended reality presentation device 308 that may be communicativelycoupled to one another by way of a network 304. Each element 302 through308 will now be described in more detail as to the part that theseelements may play in an implementation of system 100. However, it willbe understood that, in any particular implementation of system 100, eachof elements 302 through 308, as well as other elements not explicitlyshown in configuration 300, may or may not be included or play a part inimplementing the functionality of system 100 described herein.

Extended reality provider system 302 may be implemented by one or morecomputing devices or components managed and maintained by an entity thatcreates, generates, distributes, and/or otherwise provides extendedreality media data representative of extended reality media content tousers such as user 202. For example, extended reality provider system302 may include or be implemented by one or more server computersmaintained by an extended reality provider such as an extended realitycontent producer or distributer, a mobile carrier, an Internet serviceprovider, or the like. Extended reality provider system 302 may provideany suitable extended reality data to extended reality presentationdevice 308 by way of network 304.

Network 304 may provide data delivery between server-side extendedreality provider system 302 and client-side devices such as extendedreality presentation device 308. In order to distribute extended realitydata representative of extended reality media content from providersystems to client devices, network 304 may include a provider-specificwired or wireless network (e.g., a cable or satellite carrier network, amobile telephone network, a traditional telephone network, a broadbandcellular data network, etc.), the Internet, a wide area network, a localarea network, a content delivery network, and/or any other suitablenetwork or networks. Extended reality data may be distributed using anysuitable communication technologies implemented or employed by network304. Accordingly, data may flow between extended reality provider system302 and extended reality presentation device 308 using any communicationtechnologies, devices, media, and protocols as may serve a particularimplementation.

Extended reality presentation device 308 may be implemented by anysuitable type of device that may render and present any of the types ofextended reality media content described herein. For instance, extendedreality presentation device 308 may be implemented as a wearable,portable, or handheld extended reality viewing device integrated withdisplay screen 206 (e.g., a smart glasses device, a smart contact lensesdevice, a smartphone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, etc.), aportable or more stationary device that couples with display screen 206(e.g., a television device, a desktop computer, a home automationdevice, etc.), or any other device as may serve a particularimplementation. In certain examples, extended reality presentationdevice 308 may be configured to provide, for user 202, any of theextended reality experiences described herein.

Network-edge-deployed server 306 may be implemented at an edge ofnetwork 304 by one or more servers and/or other suitable computingsystems or resources that may each interoperate with extended realitypresentation device 308 with a low enough latency to stand in forcomputing elements that might otherwise be physically integrated withextended reality presentation device 308. To this end,network-edge-deployed server 306 may communicate with extended realitypresentation device 308 by way of an ultra-low latency communicationconnection that may leverage Mobile-Edge Computing or Multi-Access EdgeComputing (“MEC”) technologies, 5G cellular technologies, and so forthto enable computing capabilities at the edge of network 304. Whilenetwork-edge-deployed server 306 may be integrated with variouscomponents of a cellular network or the like included within network304, it will be understood that, in certain examples,network-edge-deployed computing resources implementingnetwork-edge-deployed server 306 may be more localized to extendedreality presentation device 308. For instance, certain implementationsof network-edge-deployed server 306 may be implemented by computingresources on a same local area network with extended realitypresentation device 308 (e.g., by computing resources located within ahome or office of user 202 such as a router with a fiber opticconnection to network 304, etc.).

Each of elements 302 through 308 may perform any suitable roles in aparticular embodiment of system 100 in order to facilitate system 100 inoperating as described herein. For example, in one implementation, theextended reality presentation device 308 could perform by itself thefunctionality to present the field of view to user 202; perform withreal-time assistance from network-edge-deployed server 306 thefunctionality to identify the augmentable object within the field ofview and determine that the augmentable object is located at the firstapparent proximity; perform the presenting of the first form of theoverlay object based on an overlay object provided by extended realityprovider system 302; and perform alone or with assistance fromnetwork-edge-deployed server 306 the determining that the augmentableobject has come to be located at the second apparent proximity and thereplacing of the first form of the overlay object with the second formof the overlay object within the field of view.

System 100 may be configured to perform “marker-based” extended realityobject augmentation in the sense that augmentations to augmentableobjects (e.g., overlay objects graphically associated with theaugmentable objects) are displayed at an area marked or designated bythe presence of the augmentable object, rather than, for example, at anarea that is not so designated. Consequently, as a particularaugmentable object moves and changes within the field of view (e.g., bymoving with respect to display device 206 and user 202), an overlayobject graphically associated with the augmentable object may beconfigured to change in accordance with the way that the augmentableobject is presented in the field of view.

As used herein, an “overlay object” may refer to any virtual object thatsystem 100 may display or cause to be displayed in association with theview of an augmentable object. For instance, an overlay object may begraphically associated with the augmentable object by being overlaidonto the augmentable object (e.g., presented in place of or on top of alimited target area or an entirety of the augmentable object in thefield of view) or by being displayed adjacent to the augmentable objectin such a way that the association between the augmentable object andthe overlay object is made apparent (e.g., due to an arrow or other suchgraphical connection being depicted to associate the augmentable andoverlay objects with one another).

Various overlay objects described herein are shown and described to takedifferent “forms” based on various factors and circumstances (e.g.,based on the apparent proximity of augmentable objects to which theoverlay objects correspond). As used herein, a “form” of an overlayobject may refer to the content, format, appearance, arrangement, orother such aspects of the overlay object as these aspects are presentedat a particular time. For instance, as will be described and illustratedin more detail below, one form of an overlay object may present certaincontent having a particular format, appearance, and arrangement, whileanother form of the overlay object may present different content,additional content, the same or similar content (e.g., having adifferent format, appearance, or arrangement than presented by the firstform), or any other content that may or may not be directly related tothe content presented by the first form of the overlay object. As such,while different forms of an overlay object corresponding to anaugmentable object are referred to herein, it will be understood thateach form of a given overlay object may alternatively be conceptualizedas a separate overlay object that corresponds with the same augmentableobject. For example, a first form and a second form of a particularoverlay object corresponding to a particular augmentable object may beimplemented by, or conceptualized as, a first overlay object and asecond overlay object that both correspond to the particular augmentableobject and are configured to replace one another so that only one of thefirst and second overlay objects is presented at any particular time.

To illustrate overlay objects and certain graphical associations ofoverlay objects with augmentable objects as the augmentable objects movewithin a field of view, FIGS. 4A through 4D depict a field of view 402into an extended reality world. As shown, field of view 402 isreferenced as fields of view 402-A through 402-D in FIGS. 4A through 4D,respectively, for convenience in referring to the different viewsprovided by the different figures. The extended reality world into whichfields of view 402 provide a view may be understood to be extendedreality world 204 or any other suitable extended reality world describedherein or as may serve a particular implementation. Thus, as shown, theextended reality world may include several objects 208 (e.g., atriangular prism object and a cylinder object that may be representativeof any of objects 208 described above), as well as at least oneaugmentable object 210 (e.g., represented as a cube object in FIGS. 4Athrough 4D and representative of any augmentable object describedherein).

As shown, different forms of different overlay objects are graphicallyassociated with augmentable object 210 in the different fields of view402. Specifically, a single form 404 of an overlay object is shown to begraphically associated with augmentable object 210 in both fields ofview 402-A and 402-B, thereby illustrating a conventional manner ofpresenting an overlay object with an augmentable object. In contrast,different forms 406-1 and 406-2 of the overlay object are shown to begraphically associated with augmentable object 210 in fields of view402-C and 402-D, thereby illustrating how methods and systems describedherein may be configured to automatically tailor the form of overlayobjects based on an apparent proximity of augmentable object 210.

For any of fields of view 402, system 100 may be configured to analyzethe set of objects presented in the field of view (e.g., includingobjects 208 and 210) so as to identify object 210 as an augmentableobject. This identifying of augmentable object 210 may be performed inany suitable manner. For example, system 100 may use computer vision,machine learning, object recognition, artificial intelligence, and/orany other suitable technologies or techniques to analyze each object anddetermine that object 210 is a recognizable augmentable object.Additionally, in certain implementations, bar codes, QR codes, or otherreadily recognizable symbols or objects may be used to facilitate theanalysis and identification of augmentable objects.

As described above in relation to FIG. 3, external resources apart fromsystem 100, or at least apart from the extended reality presentationdevice hardware associated with the user, may provide data and/orprocessing resources to assist system 100 in identifying augmentableobject 210. As one example, an extended reality provider systemintegrated with or communicatively coupled with system 100 may providedata indicative of augmentable objects that system 100 is to attempt toidentify in the field of view. As another example, anetwork-edge-deployed server integrated with or communicatively coupledwith system 100 may provide processing resources to facilitate theanalysis of all the objects in the field of view as system 100 attemptsto identify augmentable object 210.

Once augmentable object 210 is identified as an augmentable object,system 100 may track augmentable object 210 as the object moves in thefield of view (e.g., based on movement of the object, movement of thepoint of view of user 202 such as indicated by head turns of user 202,or a combination of both of these and/or other types of movement in theextended reality world). For instance, as the proximity between user 202and augmentable object 210 decreases (i.e., as augmentable object 210and user 202 get closer to one another), system 100 may trackaugmentable object 210 as augmentable object 210 grows larger in thefield of view. This is illustrated by the difference between the size ofaugmentable object 210 in FIGS. 4A and 4B (i.e., augmentable object 210is understood to be closer to user 202 in field of view 402-B becausethe size of augmentable object 210 is greater than in field of view402-A), as well as by the difference between the size of augmentableobject 210 in FIGS. 4C and 4D (i.e., augmentable object 210 isunderstood to be closer to user 202 in field of view 402-D because thesize of augmentable object 210 is greater than in field of view 402-C).

As system 100 tracks augmentable object 210 (or, alternatively, assystem 100 continually reanalyzes and reidentifies augmentable object210), system 100 may determine that augmentable object 210 is located ata second apparent proximity. For example, in FIGS. 4A and 4C, the firstapparent proximity of augmentable object 210 is shown to be a relativelyfar apparent proximity, while in FIGS. 4B and 4D, the second apparentproximity of augmentable object 210 is shown to be a relatively closeapparent proximity.

In some examples, both the first and second apparent proximity maysatisfy or fail to satisfy a particular predetermined proximitythreshold, as will be described in more detail below. As such, a form ofthe overlay object may be tailored to proximities in the range of thefirst and second apparent proximities, but the same form of the overlayobject may be employed for both apparent proximities. To illustrate,FIG. 4A illustrates augmentable object 210 at a first (relatively far)apparent proximity to user 202 and FIG. 4B illustrates augmentableobject 210 at a second (relatively close) apparent proximity to user202. Because neither the first nor the second apparent proximity happensto satisfy a predetermined proximity threshold that the other fails tosatisfy, the same form 404 of the overlay object (i.e., a form thatincludes three lines of text labeled Text 01 through Text 03) isgraphically associated with augmentable object 210 in both fields ofview 402-A and 402-B. As mentioned above, the same effect may beobserved when no predetermined proximity threshold exists, such as maybe the case with conventional implementations of extended realitytechnology.

It is noted that, as shown, the overlay object graphically associatedwith augmentable object 210 in field of view 402-A is not identical tothe overlay object overlaid onto augmentable object 210 in field of view402-B. Specifically, because the overlay object is configured toreorient and scale in accordance with movements of augmentable object210 within the field of view, the overlay object shown in FIG. 4A issignificantly smaller than the overlay object shown in FIG. 4B. However,it is also noted that, despite any such change in scale or orientationto the overlay object caused by motion of augmentable object 210relative to the point of view of user 202, form 404 of the overlayobject does remain identical in FIGS. 4A and 4B. That is, both overlayobjects show the same content (i.e., the same three lines of text inthis example) with the same format, appearance, arrangement, etc., inboth FIGS. 4A and 4B.

In contrast, in other examples, one of the first and second apparentproximities may satisfy a particular predetermined proximity thresholdthat the other fails to satisfy. For example, the first apparentproximity may satisfy a predetermined proximity threshold that thesecond apparent proximity fails to satisfy, or the first apparentproximity may fail to satisfy a predetermined proximity threshold thatthe second apparent proximity satisfies. In these examples, the form ofthe overlay object may not only be tailored to the appropriate proximity(e.g., by optimizing an amount of detail or content that may beappreciated by the user given his or her proximity to the augmentableobject), but different forms of the overlay object may be employed foreach apparent proximity. To illustrate, FIG. 4C illustrates augmentableobject 210 at the same first (relatively far) apparent proximity shownin FIG. 4A, while FIG. 4D illustrates augmentable object 210 at the samesecond (relatively close) apparent proximity shown in FIG. 4B. In thisexample, because one of the first or second apparent proximities happensto satisfy a predetermined proximity threshold that the other fails tosatisfy, one form 406-1 of the overlay object (i.e., a form thatincludes the three lines of text labeled Text 01 through Text 03) isgraphically associated with augmentable object 210 in field of view402-C, and a different form 406-2 of overlay object (i.e., a form thatincludes eight lines of text labeled Text 01 through Text 08 and agraphic labeled “Graphic”) is graphically associated with augmentableobject 210 in field of view 402-D.

It is noted that, as shown, the overlay object graphically associatedwith augmentable object 210 in field of view 402-C is distinct from theoverlay object graphically associated with augmentable object 210 infield of view 402-D. However, in contrast to the distinction describedabove in relation to fields of view 402-A and 402-B (i.e., where thedistinction of the overlay object was one of scale and/or orientationonly), the distinction of the overlay object in fields of view 402-C and402-D is not only one of scale and/or orientation, but is also adistinction of form. As mentioned above, the form of an overlay objectmay refer to various aspects of the content, format, appearance, orarrangement of the overlay object. However, it will be understood thatoverlay object instances corresponding to the same augmentable objectand differing only in scale and/or orientation (e.g., according to thescale and orientation of the augmentable object) will be consideredherein to be the same form of the same overlay object. Accordingly, asused herein, a second form of an overlay object may be said to bedistinct from a first form of the overlay object when the second formincludes different content than the first form (e.g., different or moretext, a different graphic, a more detailed or higher-resolution graphic,an interactive link that was not present on the first form, etc.); thesecond form includes a different type of content than the first form(e.g., a video rather than a still image, an interactive text link inplace of non-interactive text, etc.); the second form includes adifferent design than the first form (e.g., a different font, adifferent size of text and/or graphics relative to one another, etc.);the second form is a different size with respect to the augmentableobject than the first form; the second form is graphically associatedwith the augmentable object in a different manner than the first form(e.g., the second form is directly overlaid onto the augmentable objectrather than displayed adjacent to the augmentable object, etc.); or thesecond form is otherwise different from the first form in a combinationof these ways or in a similar manner.

In some examples, content included in two different forms of an overlayobject may be similar in theme or in the information being presented,even if the content is not identical. In certain examples, content indifferent forms of an overlay object may even overlap by, for instance,including certain common textual content (e.g., the same title, etc.),including a common graphic (e.g., the same logo, etc.), or the like. Inother examples, content in different forms of an overlay object may beunrelated and completely different. For instance, one form of theoverlay object may include only text, while another form of the overlayobject may include only a graphic, or different text than the firstform. In this sense, as mentioned above, the two forms of the overlayobject may be conceptualized as two completely distinct overlay objectseach corresponding to the same augmentable object and configured to bepresented in conjunction with the augmentable object at different timesor under different circumstances.

The distinctions between forms 406-1 and 406-2 shown in FIGS. 4C and 4Dillustrate a few of these differences that render first and second formsof an overlay object distinct from one another. Specifically, as shown,form 406-1 is depicted to have three lines of text that are all the samesize, while form 406-2 is depicted to have one line of text (“Text 01”)that is notably larger than the others, like a title. Moreover, whileform 406-1 is limited to three lines of text due to being tailored tothe relatively small size of augmentable object 210 in field of view402-C, form 406-2 includes eight lines of text and a graphic due tobeing tailored to the relatively large size of augmentable object 210 infield of view 402-D.

As fields of view 402-A and 402-B in FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate, it maybe beneficial for the overlay object to change and adapt in accordancewith the changing of augmentable object 210 within the field of view.For example, due to the automatic adaptation of the overlay object ofform 404, a strong sense of connection between the overlay object andaugmentable object 210 may be made in the mind of user 202 because theoverlay object is made to appear to be projected onto augmentable object210 in the same way regardless of how augmentable object 210 changeswithin the field of view. As beneficial as this may be, however, it maynot be particularly useful for the same three lines of text used whenaugmentable object 210 has a relatively far apparent proximity such asillustrated by FIG. 4A (e.g., lines of text that can be appreciated bythe user even when augmentable object 210 is far away) to also bedisplayed when augmentable object 210 has a relatively close apparentproximity such as illustrated by FIG. 4B. For example, the textdisplayed in the overlay object of field of view 402-B may be so largeas to be difficult for user 202 to read (e.g., requiring user 202 tomove his or her head rather than scanning with the eyes to read, etc.),or at least may be an inefficient use of the visual field that user 202is provided.

To remedy this potential inefficiency, system 100 may thus be configuredto use different forms 406 of an overlay object, as shown in FIGS. 4Cand 4D. Rather than projecting the same three lines of text that madesense to display in form 406-1 of the overlay object, system 100 mayproject a more detailed, helpful, and tailored form of the overlayobject for the relatively close proximity of augmentable object 210shown in field of view 402-D. As such, FIG. 4D shows that a much greateramount of text may be included within the overlay object, as well as agraphic. In this way, the visual field of user 202 may be used moreefficiently than in the example of FIGS. 4A and 4B to provide anappropriate level of detail related to augmentable object 210 based onthe apparent proximity of augmentable object 210.

While form 406-2 of the overlay object shown in field of view 402-Dshows a few different types of textual and graphical elements that maybe appropriate for a form of an overlay object that is tailored to therelatively close apparent proximity of augmentable object 210 in FIG.4D, it will be understood that these elements are exemplary only, andthat any suitable textual, graphical, or other elements may be employedas may serve a particular implementation. For example, along withtwo-dimensional (“2D”) or 3D text of different sizes and 2D or 3Dgraphics featuring still images, animated images, and/or videos, certainforms of a particular overlay object may further include interactiveelements (e.g., hyperlinks, user interface buttons that may be selectedby user 202, etc.), real-time data elements (e.g., charts, graphs,etc.), audio elements, and/or any other suitable elements as may serve aparticular implementation. Additionally, certain forms of an overlayobject may include or implement a 2D or 3D model of a virtual object(e.g., an animated character, an item for purchase in an advertisement,etc.). As yet another example, certain implementations of system 100 mayincorporate hardware transducers for generating physical feedback (e.g.,haptic feedback, etc.). For example, system 100 may include an eccentricrotating mass motor, a linear resonant actuator, a piezoelectricactuator, or the like. In these implementations, certain forms of theoverlay object may also include haptic elements or other such elementsconfigured to provide physical feedback and interaction to the user asmay serve a particular implementation.

Moreover, it will be understood that the level of detail of informationpresented in different forms of an overlay object may also change and betailored to the apparent proximity of the augmentable object with whichthe overlay object is associated. For example, if augmentable object 210is a bus, form 406-1 of the overlay object may indicate only basicinformation such as the route number and direction of travel of the bus,while form 406-2 of the overlay object may indicate the basicinformation together with more detailed information such as theinformation about the next several stops, a map graphic illustrating theroute, and so forth. As another example, if augmentable object 210 is aworker in a factory, form 406-1 of the overlay object may indicate onlybasic information such as the name and job title of the worker, whileform 406-2 of the overlay object may indicate this same informationtogether with additional details such as when the worker's current shiftbegan and will end, what special skills the worker may have, a pictureof the worker, and so forth.

Referring to the different forms 406-1 and 406-2 of the overlay objectshown in FIGS. 4C and 4D, it will be understood that the replacing ofform 406-1 with form 406-2 may be performed in any suitable way. Forinstance, in certain implementations, as soon as a predeterminedproximity threshold is satisfied, form 406-2 may be made to instantly beshown in place of form 406-1 within the field of view. In otherimplementations, the replacement may be made more gradually after thepredetermined proximity threshold is detected to be satisfied. As oneexample, form 406-1 may fade or transition into form 406-2 graduallyusing any suitable video transition or effect as may serve a particularimplementation. As another example, one or more new lines of text or newgraphics may be added one at a time to form 406-1 as space becomesavailable on the overlay object (e.g., as augmentable object 210 comescloser and grows in size) until all of the elements of form 406-2 are inplace.

Regardless of the manner in which a more complex form of an overlayobject such as form 406-2 replaces a simpler form of the overlay objectsuch as form 406-1, system 100 may tailor the form of the overlay objectand determine when to replace one form of the overlay object withanother based on an apparent proximity of the augmentable object withwhich the overlay object is associated. In the example of FIGS. 4C and4D, for instance, system 100 may tailor forms 406-1 and 406-2 of theoverlay object, as well as determine when form 406-2 is to replace form406-1 (or vice versa), based on the apparent proximity of augmentableobject 210 to the user viewing augmentable object 210 in field of view402.

As used herein, an apparent proximity of an augmentable object to a userrefers to how close to or far away from the user the augmentable objectappears to be. For instance, an augmentable object that appears to berelatively near to the user (e.g., and is thus relatively large within afield of view being viewed by the user) may be said to be in relativelyclose apparent proximity to the user. In contrast, an augmentable objectthat appears to be relatively far away from the user (e.g., and is thusrelatively small within the field of view) may be said to be inrelatively far apparent proximity to the user.

In some implementations, the apparent proximity of an augmentable objectto a user may be assumed to relate to or correspond with an actualproximity of the augmentable object to the user. As such, in theseimplementations, system 100 may determine the apparent proximity of theaugmentable object to the user by determining the distance from the userto the augmentable object. For example, system 100 may determine thedistance from the augmentable object to an extended reality presentationdevice used by the user (e.g., extended reality presentation device 308including display screen 206, which may be presenting the field of viewto user 202). This distance may be determined in any suitable way, suchas by employing a suitable depth capture technique like a stereoscopicdepth capture technique (e.g., calculating the distance based on thedisplacement of the augmentable object in imagery captured by twodifferent capture devices having a precalibrated relationship with oneanother), a time-of-flight depth capture technique (e.g., atime-of-flight camera, a laser range finder, a radar device, etc.), adepth capture technique employing computer-vision-based estimation, orany other suitable depth capture technique as may serve a particularimplementation.

In other implementations, the apparent proximity of the augmentableobject to the user may not necessarily be assumed to relate to orcorrespond with the actual proximity of the augmentable object to theuser. As such, in these implementations, system 100 may not at any pointpositively determine a distance from the user to the augmentable object.Instead, system 100 may determine the apparent proximity of theaugmentable object to the user by determining a total portion (e.g., apercentage, etc.) of the field of view upon which the augmentable objectis displayed and using a value representative of this portion as theapparent proximity. It will be understood that this apparent proximityvalue is a proxy for the actual proximity and may or may not perfectlycorrespond to the actual proximity of the augmentable object to the userat all times (e.g., based on the geometry of the object, the orientationof the object with respect to the viewpoint of the user, etc.). However,because the portion of the field of view may be a fair approximation ofthe actual proximity of the augmentable object and an approximation thatis convenient and inexpensive to determine (e.g., inexpensive both interms of processing requirements and special sensors required by theextended reality presentation device), the portion of the field of viewmay serve as a convenient and useful proxy for the actual proximity inimplementations where the actual proximity is not determined.

In these examples, system 100 may determine that augmentable object 210is located at a first apparent proximity to user 202 by determining thataugmentable object 210 is displayed by a first portion of field of view402. For instance, the first portion of field of view 402 may beassociated with a first percentage of a totality of field of view 402.Subsequently, system 100 may determine that augmentable object 210 hascome to be located at the second apparent proximity to user 202 bydetermining that augmentable object 210 has come to be displayed by asecond portion of field of view 402 (e.g., a different portion of fieldof view 402 than the first portion). For instance, the second portionmay be associated with a second percentage of the totality of field ofview 402 that is distinct from the first percentage.

To illustrate, FIGS. 5A and 5B show exemplary portions of an exemplaryfield of view 502 (e.g., referenced, for convenience, as field of view502-A in FIG. 5A and field of view 502-B in FIG. 5B). As illustrated inFIG. 5A, an outline of augmentable object 210 is depicted in field ofview 502-A to have an apparent proximity corresponding to the apparentproximity of augmentable object 210 in field of view 402-C in FIG. 4Cabove. As shown, this apparent proximity may correspond to a portion ofabout 6% of the totality of field of view 502-A, leaving 94% of thefield of view to display other elements of the extended reality world(e.g., other objects 208 and so forth, which are not explicitly shown infield of view 502). Moreover, as illustrated in FIG. 5B, an outline ofaugmentable object 210 is depicted in field of view 502-B to have anapparent proximity corresponding to the apparent proximity ofaugmentable object 210 in field of view 402-D in FIG. 4D above. Asshown, this apparent proximity may correspond to a portion of about 23%of the totality of field of view 502-B, leaving 77% of the field of viewfor displaying other elements.

The portion of the field of view used to display augmentable object 210may be determined in any suitable way. For instance, if display screen206 upon which field of view 502 is displayed is a display screen thatincludes a total number of pixels, a number of pixels used to displayaugmentable object 210 may be divided by the total number of pixels todetermine a percentage of the pixels associated with augmentable object210 at a particular point in time. As shown, this percentage may beapproximately 6% for the point in time represented by field of view502-A and approximately 23% for the point in time represented by fieldof view 502-B. In other examples, display screen 206 may employ displaytechnology that relies on non-pixelated image projection and thus maynot be associated with pixels as such. In these examples, similarprinciples adapted to the display technology may be employed tosimilarly determine the overall percentage of the usable display spacethat the depiction of augmentable object 210 takes up.

While the orientation of augmentable object 210 remains the same inFIGS. 5A and 5B, it will be understood that a change in orientation ofaugmentable object 210 could affect the apparent proximity determined inthis manner (i.e., the total portion of field of view 502 used todisplay augmentable object 210) even if the actual proximity remainedunchanged. For example, at the actual proximity of augmentable object210 shown in field of view 502-B, augmentable object 210 may be orientedto use more or less than the 23% portion shown by being turned andreoriented, rather than only by moving closer or farther away. Evenstill, as mentioned above, it will be understood that the percentagesshown may provide a suitable and easily determinable proxy value torepresent the actual proximity, and may thus be used as apparentproximity values in various implementations. Additionally, in certainexamples, system 100 may attempt to account for variances in orientationby estimating, for example, what portion of field of view 502 aparticular face of augmentable object 210 would use if augmentableobject 210 were reoriented in a different way (e.g., in a standardizedway, in a way corresponding to how the object was oriented at a previouspoint in time, etc.).

In some examples, an overlay object associated with a particularaugmentable object such as augmentable object 210 may have severaldifferent forms associated with several different apparent proximities(or ranges of apparent proximities) of the augmentable object to theuser. To determine which form of the overlay object is to be used forany given apparent proximity, one or more predetermined thresholds orranges may be defined with respect to the apparent proximity. Suchthresholds may be referred to herein as “proximity thresholds,” and mayseparate different apparent proximities measured in any manner describedherein (e.g., measured as actual distances, measured as percentagevalues of the totality of the field of view, etc.).

System 100 may determine which of several forms of an overlay object touse for an augmentable object at a first apparent proximity (e.g., theapparent proximity of 6% illustrated in FIG. 5A) by determining that theapparent proximity satisfies or fails to satisfy one or morepredetermined proximity thresholds. For instance, the first apparentproximity of 6% may be determined to satisfy a predetermined proximitythreshold defined to be 5% of the totality of the field of view, but notto satisfy a predetermined proximity threshold of defined to be 20% ofthe totality of the field of view. Subsequently, system 100 may beconfigured to determine that a second apparent proximity (e.g., theapparent proximity of 23% illustrated in FIG. 5B) satisfies both ofthese exemplary 5% and 20% proximity thresholds. As a result, system 100may display a second form of the overlay object for the second apparentproximity instead of the first form used for the first apparentproximity. For example, the replacing of the first form of the overlayobject with the second form of the overlay object may be performed inresponse to determining that the second apparent proximity satisfies thepredetermined proximity threshold that the first apparent proximityfailed to satisfy (i.e., the 20% proximity threshold).

Proximity thresholds may be defined to be any suitable type ofthresholds based on any suitable factors. For example, inimplementations where pixelated screens are used to present overlayobjects and apparent proximity is measured based on a value related tothe number of pixels used to represent the augmentable object and/or theassociated overlay object, proximity thresholds may be defined based onnumbers or percentages of pixels. For instance, it may be determinedthat a certain number of pixels (e.g. 1000 pixels) is needed at aminimum for an overlay object to include legible text, so a proximitythreshold may be defined to require an augmentable object to have anapparent proximity at least close enough for that number of pixels to beused to display the overlay object. As another example, a minimumpercentage value of the field of view (e.g., 1% of the field of view)may be determined for an augmentable object to be recognizable, for anoverlay object to be appreciable, or the like. As such, a proximitythreshold may be defined to require the augmentable object and/or theoverlay object to be displayed using at least that minimum percentagevalue. In other examples (e.g., implementations that do not usepixelated screen technologies, implementations that define apparentproximities based on determination of actual distances, etc.), proximitythresholds may be defined in other suitable ways.

In some examples, one or more proximity thresholds may be defined tocreate one or more ranges with which different forms of the overlayobject may be associated. For instance, in one example, a firstproximity threshold may be defined at a first value (e.g., 1% of thetotality of the field of view) to create a first apparent proximityrange (e.g., 0%-1% of the field of view), a second proximity thresholdmay be defined at a second value (e.g., 5% of the field of view) tocreate a second apparent proximity range (e.g., 1%-5% of the field ofview), a third proximity threshold may be defined at a third value(e.g., 20% of the field of view) to create a third apparent proximityrange (e.g., 5-20% of the field of view), and a fourth proximitythreshold may be defined at a fourth value (e.g., 35% of the field ofview) to create a fourth apparent proximity range (e.g., 20%-35% of thefield of view) and a fifth proximity range (e.g., 35%-100% of the fieldof view). As the apparent proximity of an augmentable object changes andmoves between these different proximity ranges during the course of anextended reality session, system 100 may use different forms of theoverlay object that are associated with each range.

To illustrate, FIGS. 6A through 6D show various exemplary forms 406(e.g., forms 406-0 through 406-3) of an overlay object graphicallyassociated with augmentable object 210 as augmentable object 210 movesto different exemplary apparent proximities to user 202. For clarity ofdescription, the four exemplary proximity thresholds described above(e.g., 1%, 5%, 20%, and 35%) and the five exemplary proximity rangesdescribed above (e.g., 0%-1%, 1%-5%, 5%-20%, 20%-35%, and 35%-100%) willbe referred to in the following description of a field of view 602 thatis illustrated at different points in time as the apparent proximity ofaugmentable object 210 changes (e.g., referenced as field of view 602-Ain FIG. 6A, field of view 602-B in FIG. 6B, field of view 602-C in FIG.6C, and field of view 602-D in FIG. 6D). However, it will be understoodthat the number of proximity thresholds and ranges, the types ofproximity thresholds and ranges (e.g., based on field of viewpercentages rather than numbers of pixels, actual distances, or othercharacteristics), and the values of the proximity thresholds and rangesare all provided only as examples for the purpose of illustration. Invarious implementations, any number, type, value, or othercharacteristic may be used to define suitable proximity thresholdsand/or corresponding proximity ranges as may serve a particularimplementation. For example, in certain implementations, only a minimumthreshold and a maximum threshold may be defined so as to create threeranges: a first range where the form of the overlay object is a staticsize (e.g., a static scale) larger than a relatively small depiction ofthe augmentable object within the field of view (e.g., similar to thedepiction in FIG. 6A), a second range where the form of the overlayobject is configured to mimic the dynamic size (e.g., the dynamicscaling) of the augmentable object (e.g., similar to the depiction ineither FIG. 6B or 6C), and a third range where the form of the overlayobject is a static size smaller than a relatively large depiction of theaugmentable object within the field of view (e.g., similar to thedepiction in FIG. 6D).

When the apparent proximity of augmentable object 210 is such that thefirst proximity threshold is not satisfied (e.g., when augmentableobject 210 is displayed using between 0% and 1% of field of view 602),no form of the overlay object may be shown at all in certain examples.In this situation, system 100 may not even be able to positivelyidentify augmentable object 210 or distinguish it from other objectswithin the extended reality world. This situation is not explicitlyshown in any of FIGS. 6A through 6D.

However, when the apparent proximity of augmentable object 210 changessuch that the first proximity threshold is satisfied (e.g., whenaugmentable object 210 is displayed using between 1% and 5% of field ofview 602), a first form 406-0 of the overlay object may be presented, asillustrated in field of view 602-A in FIG. 6A. As shown, form 406-0 is aminimal form that is statically scaled (e.g., at a minimum size wherethe text is legible or the content of the overlay object is otherwiseappreciable to the user) so as not to change in scale based on theapparent proximity of augmentable object 210. In some examples, as soonas augmentable object 210 can be positively identified or recognized asbeing an augmentable object, the first proximity threshold may beconsidered to be satisfied, while in other examples, the apparentproximity may be required to meet a specific threshold as describedabove.

When augmentable object 210 is relatively far away and displayed on arelatively small portion of field of view 602 (as shown in field of view602-A), system 100 may recognize the object but may not yet be able topositively identify particular details or characteristics of augmentableobject 210. For example, at this stage, system 100 may recognizeaugmentable object 210 as a bus, but may not yet be able to identifywhich bus it is so as to associate the bus with a particular route orthe like. As another example, system 100 may recognize augmentableobject 210 as a person (or, more specifically as a factory floorworker), but may not yet be able to identify who the person is so as toassociate the person with a particular work shift or skill set or thelike. Accordingly, the content displayed in form 406-0 of the overlayobject may include fewer details or less information than other forms406 of the overlay object that will be described in more detail below.

Additionally, when statically-scaled form 406-0 is being graphicallyassociated with augmentable object 210 and when a target area ofaugmentable object 210 (i.e., an area or portion of augmentable object210 upon which the overlay object would normally be displayed) issmaller than form 406-0, form 406-0 of the overlay object may begraphically associated with augmentable object 210 in a different mannerthan under other circumstances. Specifically, for instance, FIG. 6Ashows that form 406-0 may not be displayed directly on the target areaof augmentable object 210 (e.g., the front face of augmentable object210 in this example), but, rather, may be displayed adjacent toaugmentable object 210 (e.g., floating in the air near the target area,partially overlapping with the target area, etc.). As further shown inFIG. 6A, form 406-0 may include an arrow, callout, or other suchindicator to graphically associate the overlay object with augmentableobject 210.

As the apparent proximity of augmentable object 210 changes (e.g., asthe user and the object move in relation to one another), the apparentproximity of augmentable object 210 may eventually come to satisfy notonly the first proximity threshold, but also the second proximitythreshold. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 6B, augmentable object210 may be displayed using between 5% and 20% of field of view 602-B. Atthis point, the same content of form 406-0 of the overlay object may bepresented in form 406-1 (described above in relation to FIG. 4C), but,as shown, form 406-1 of the overlay object may now be graphicallyassociated with augmentable object 210 by being positioned directly onthe target area of augmentable object 210. Additionally, while form406-0 was described above as being a statically-scaled form of theoverlay object that could be graphically associated with augmentableobject 210 while augmentable object 210 is relatively small, form 406-1of the overlay object may be implemented as a dynamically-scaled form ofthe overlay object that may be continuously scaled and rescaled to fitthe target area in a particular way (e.g., to fill the entire targetarea in this example).

As the apparent proximity of augmentable object 210 continues to change(e.g., as the distance between augmentable object 210 and the usercontinues to decrease), the apparent proximity of augmentable object 210may eventually come to further satisfy the third proximity thresholdalong with the first and second proximity thresholds. For example, asillustrated in FIG. 6C, augmentable object 210 may be displayed usingbetween 20% and 35% of field of view 602-C. At this point, the targetarea of augmentable object 210 may be large enough that additionalcontent beyond the minimal content of forms 406-0 and 406-1 of theoverlay object may be included on form 406-2 of the overlay object(described above in relation to FIG. 4D) and may be legible or otherwiseappreciable to user 202. Accordingly, as shown, form 406-2 of theoverlay object may continue to be dynamically-scaled and graphicallyassociated with augmentable object 210 by being perpetually positionedon the target area, but now may include additional content such asadditional text, new text sizes, a graphic, and so forth.

As described above, the additional content included in form 406-2 may beany suitable content of any suitable content type. For example, whilecertain details or characteristics of the object's identity were notable to be determined when augmentable object 210 was relatively faraway (as described above in relation to FIG. 6A), the apparent proximityof augmentable object 210 in field of view 602-C may now be such thatsystem 100 is able to determine these additional details orcharacteristics (e.g., which specific bus is coming toward the user,which specific person is on the factory floor, etc.). Accordingly, someof the additional content added to form 406-2 of the overlay object thatwas not included on forms 406-0 and 406-1 may include informationrelated to these additional details or characteristics. In the busexample, for instance, forms 406-0 and 406-1 may indicate only that abus has been recognized to be coming in the user's direction, while form406-2 may indicate details about which bus has been identified, detailsof the bus route, and so forth.

As the apparent proximity of augmentable object 210 continues to change(e.g., as the distance between augmentable object 210 and the userdecreases even further), the apparent proximity of augmentable object210 may eventually come to satisfy all of the proximity thresholdsincluding the fourth proximity threshold. For example, as illustrated inFIG. 6D, augmentable object 210 may be displayed using between 35% and100% of field of view 602-D. At this point, the target area ofaugmentable object 210 may be large enough that even more content may beadded beyond the content of form 406-2, and that all of the content maybe legible or otherwise appreciable to user 202. Accordingly, as shown,form 406-3 of the overlay object may include additional content such asadditional text and text sizes, a video graphic, interactive links, andany other content as may serve a particular implementation.

In this closest proximity range, the target area of augmentable object210 may be displayed on such a large portion of field of view 602 thatit may not be desirable for form 406-3 to continue to bedynamically-scaled and graphically associated with augmentable object210 by being perpetually filling the target area. For example, bycontinuing to dynamically scale form 406-3 of the overlay object tomatch the target area of augmentable object 210, it could become thatcase that it would become difficult, inconvenient, or annoying to user202 to read the text or otherwise appreciate the content because thecontent is so big. Accordingly, form 406-3, like form 406-0, may be astatically-scaled form of the overlay object in certain examples.However, rather than being a minimum scale like form 406-0, form 406-3of the overlay object may represent a maximum scale of form 406-3 thatwill be comfortable and convenient for user 202 to view and appreciateno matter how close the user's proximity to augmentable object 210becomes (e.g., including even if augmentable object 210 fills 100% offield of view 602). In these examples, form 406-3 may be graphicallyassociated with the target area of augmentable object 210 in any way asmay serve a particular implementation. For instance, as shown in fieldof view 602-D, the overlay object may be aligned with a particularportion (e.g., a corner, a side, etc.) of the target area. In otherexamples, the overlay object may be centered within the field of view orplaced in another static area of the field of view, or may otherwise bedisplayed in any manner that graphically associates the overlay objectwith augmentable object 210.

In the examples described and illustrated up to this point, system 100has identified augmentable objects such as augmentable object 210 usingmachine vision or other such technologies when the augmentable objectsare presented within the field of view being viewed by the user. It willbe understood, however, that, in addition to these identificationtechniques, system 100 may also identify, recognize, detect, anticipate,or otherwise determine the presence of augmentable objects in thevicinity of user 202 using other techniques and technologies. In someinstances, for example, the presence of one or more augmentable objectsmay even be determined before the augmentable objects are presentedwithin the field of view.

As one example, system 100 may determine that an augmentable object isincluded within the extended reality world outside the field of view.System 100 may make this determination concurrently with the presentingof the field of view and prior to the identifying of the augmentableobject from the set of objects presented in the field of view. Thisdetermination may be made in any suitable manner and/or using anysuitable sensing technologies. For example, system 100 may determinethat the augmentable object is included within the extended realityworld outside the field of view by comparing 1) location data (e.g., GPSlocation data, Bluetooth beacon-based location data, WiFi-based locationdata, preprogrammed location data, etc.) generated by a sensor of system100 and indicative of a real-time geolocation of the user, and 2)location data accessed by the extended reality presentation system andindicative of a real-time geolocation of the augmentable object.

More specifically, for instance, system 100 may maintain or accessdynamic data representative of static or dynamically-trackedgeolocations of one or more augmentable objects in the vicinity of theuser. As such, by comparing a real-time geolocation of the user himselfor herself (or, more particularly, of the extended reality presentationdevice being used by the user to experience the extended reality world)to the known geolocations of the augmentable objects in the vicinity ofthe user, system 100 may determine the presence of augmentable objectseven before the objects are visible within the user's field of view. Invarious examples, sensors such as GPS sensors, Bluetooth beacons, WiFireceivers, smart tags (e.g., radio frequency identifier chips, etc.),and/or other suitable types of sensors may be used to help trackindividual people or objects in certain use cases as have been describedherein or as may be served by particular implementations of the methodsand systems described herein.

In response to the determination that an augmentable object is includedwithin the extended reality world outside the field of view (e.g., inthe vicinity of the user but not visible to the user), system 100 may beconfigured to present within the field of view a preview form of theoverlay object to be graphically associated with the augmentable objectwhen the augmentable object is subsequently presented in the field ofview. As one example, a comparison of location data indicative of ageolocation of the user and location data indicative of a geolocation ofa particular bus may reveal that the bus, while still out of sight forthe user, is just around the corner. As such, a preview form of anoverlay object may be presented indicating the bus is nearby until thebus comes into view and the preview form of the overlay object isreplaced by a standard form of the overlay object graphically associatedwith the bus within the field of view. As another example, a comparisonof location data indicative of a geolocation of the user and locationdata indicative of a geolocation of a point of interest such as afavorite restaurant of the user may reveal that the restaurant is only ashort distance away from the user on the next street over. As such, apreview form of an overlay object may be presented to indicate that therestaurant is nearby and to guide the user toward the restaurant (if theuser should choose to go there) until the restaurant comes into view andthe preview form of the overlay object is replaced by a standard form ofthe overlay object graphically associated with the restaurant within thefield of view.

To illustrate, FIG. 7 shows a field of view 702 depicting exemplarypreview forms 704-1 and 704-2 of different overlay objects that are tobe graphically associated with augmentable objects not yet visible inthe field of view. Specifically, field of view 702 depicts a view of astreet scene within an extended reality world that a user isexperiencing. For example, the street, sidewalk, and buildings shown infield of view 702 may represent a street, sidewalk, and buildings at thelocation of the user as the user participates in an augmented realityexperience.

Based on location data (e.g., GPS data or other sensor data) accessed ormaintained by system 100, system 100 may determine that a particular bus(e.g., the 812 Westbound bus) is approaching on the street from theleft. Even if the user has not turned his or her head to actually seethe bus in the field of view, or even if the bus has not come into viewfrom where the user is located, system 100 may present preview form704-1 of an overlay object in field of view 702. In this way, when thebus passes in front of the user in field of view 702, or when the userturns his or her head left to see down the street and sees the buscoming, preview form 704-1 may automatically change into (e.g.,transition into, be instantly replaced by, etc.) another form of theoverlay object such as any of the forms described and/or illustratedabove (e.g., one of forms 406 of the overlay object, depending on theapparent proximity of the bus at any given time). As shown, preview form704-1 includes information about the bus that may be consideredpertinent to the user. For example, preview form 704-1 of the overlayobject indicates that the bus is the 812 Westbound bus and that it is0.1 miles away. It will be understood that, just as with other forms ofoverlay objects described above, any content of any content type as mayserve a particular implementation may be included on preview form 704-1of the overlay object.

As another example also illustrated by FIG. 7, system 100 may determine(e.g., based on location data or the like) that a favorite restaurant ofthe user (“ABC Burgers”) is on the next street over, but is notcurrently within view. For example, the system may automatically searchfor favorite restaurants at a particular time of day (e.g., lunch time)or when the user has indicated that he or she is searching forrestaurants. While a restaurant is used in this example, it will beunderstood that other points of interest of other types (e.g., stores,theaters, homes or workplaces of the user's contacts, etc.) maysimilarly be identified in other examples. Even though the user cannotsee the ABC Burgers restaurant in field of view 702, preview form 704-2of an overlay object that is to be graphically associated with therestaurant when the restaurant does come into view is shown.Specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 7, preview form 704-2 may be madeto appear as a large pin stuck in the ground a block away and rising upover the roofs of the buildings, or may take any other suitable form(e.g., an arrow pointing the way to the restaurant, etc.). In this way,if the user walks toward the large pin until the ABC Burgers restaurantis in view, preview form 704-2 may automatically change into anotherform of the overlay object such as any of the forms described and/orillustrated above. As shown, preview form 704-2 includes informationabout the restaurant that may be considered pertinent to the user. Forexample, preview form 704-2 of the overlay object indicates that therestaurant is an “ABC Burgers” restaurant and that it is 0.2 miles away.As described above in relation to form 704-1, it will be understood thatany content or any content type may be included on preview form 704-2 ofthe overlay object.

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary extended reality presentation method 800for automatically tailoring a form of an extended reality overlay objectbased on an apparent proximity of an augmentable object to a user. WhileFIG. 8 illustrates exemplary operations according to one embodiment,other embodiments may omit, add to, reorder, and/or modify any of theoperations shown in FIG. 8. One or more of the operations shown in FIG.8 may be performed by system 100, any components included therein,and/or any implementation thereof.

In operation 802, an extended reality presentation system may present,to a user, a field of view into an extended reality world. Operation 802may be performed in any of the ways described herein.

In operation 804, the extended reality presentation system may identifyan augmentable object from a set of objects presented in the field ofview. Operation 804 may be performed in any of the ways describedherein.

In operation 806, the extended reality presentation system may determinethat the augmentable object is located at a first apparent proximity tothe user. For example, the extended reality presentation system maydetermine that the augmentable object is located at the first apparentproximity in response to the identifying of the augmentable object.Operation 806 may be performed in any of the ways described herein.

In operation 808, the extended reality presentation system may present,within the field of view, a first form of an overlay object graphicallyassociated with the augmentable object. For example, the first form maybe tailored to the first apparent proximity of the augmentable object tothe user determined in operation 806. In some examples, the extendedreality presentation system may present the first form of the overlayobject in response to the determining, in operation 806, that theaugmentable object is located at the first apparent proximity. Operation808 may be performed in any of the ways described herein.

In operation 810, the extended reality presentation system may determinethat the augmentable object has come to be located at a second apparentproximity to the user. For instance, the extended reality presentationsystem may make the determination of operation 810 subsequent to thedetermining in operation 806 that the augmentable object is located atthe first apparent proximity. In some examples, the second apparentproximity may be distinct from the first apparent proximity. Operation810 may be performed in any of the ways described herein.

In operation 812, the extended reality presentation system may replace,within the field of view, the first form of the overlay object with asecond form of the overlay object. For example, the extended realitypresentation system may replace the first form with the second form inresponse to the determining in operation 810 that the augmentable objecthas come to be located at the second apparent proximity. In someexamples, the second form of the overlay object may be distinct from thefirst form and may be tailored to the second apparent proximity.Operation 812 may be performed in any of the ways described herein.

In some examples, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storingcomputer-readable instructions may be provided in accordance with theprinciples described herein. The instructions, when executed by aprocessor of a computing device, may direct the processor and/orcomputing device to perform one or more operations, including one ormore of the operations described herein. Such instructions may be storedand/or transmitted using any of a variety of known computer-readablemedia.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium as referred to herein mayinclude any non-transitory storage medium that participates in providingdata (e.g., instructions) that may be read and/or executed by acomputing device (e.g., by a processor of a computing device). Forexample, a non-transitory computer-readable medium may include, but isnot limited to, any combination of non-volatile storage media and/orvolatile storage media. Exemplary non-volatile storage media include,but are not limited to, read-only memory, flash memory, a solid-statedrive, a magnetic storage device (e.g. a hard disk, a floppy disk,magnetic tape, etc.), ferroelectric random-access memory (“RAM”), and anoptical disc (e.g., a compact disc, a digital video disc, a Blu-raydisc, etc.). Exemplary volatile storage media include, but are notlimited to, RAM (e.g., dynamic RAM).

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary computing device 900 that may bespecifically configured to perform one or more of the processesdescribed herein. As shown in FIG. 9, computing device 900 may include acommunication interface 902, a processor 904, a storage device 906, andan input/output (“I/O”) module 908 communicatively connected one toanother via a communication infrastructure 910. While an exemplarycomputing device 900 is shown in FIG. 9, the components illustrated inFIG. 9 are not intended to be limiting. Additional or alternativecomponents may be used in other embodiments. Components of computingdevice 900 shown in FIG. 9 will now be described in additional detail.

Communication interface 902 may be configured to communicate with one ormore computing devices. Examples of communication interface 902 include,without limitation, a wired network interface (such as a networkinterface card), a wireless network interface (such as a wirelessnetwork interface card), a modem, an audio/video connection, and anyother suitable interface.

Processor 904 generally represents any type or form of processing unitcapable of processing data and/or interpreting, executing, and/ordirecting execution of one or more of the instructions, processes,and/or operations described herein. Processor 904 may perform operationsby executing computer-executable instructions 912 (e.g., an application,software, code, and/or other executable data instance) stored in storagedevice 906.

Storage device 906 may include one or more data storage media, devices,or configurations and may employ any type, form, and combination of datastorage media and/or device. For example, storage device 906 mayinclude, but is not limited to, any combination of the non-volatilemedia and/or volatile media described herein. Electronic data, includingdata described herein, may be temporarily and/or permanently stored instorage device 906. For example, data representative ofcomputer-executable instructions 912 configured to direct processor 904to perform any of the operations described herein may be stored withinstorage device 906. In some examples, data may be arranged in one ormore databases residing within storage device 906.

I/O module 908 may include one or more I/O modules configured to receiveuser input and provide user output. I/O module 908 may include anyhardware, firmware, software, or combination thereof supportive of inputand output capabilities. For example, I/O module 908 may includehardware and/or software for capturing user input, including, but notlimited to, a keyboard or keypad, a touchscreen component (e.g.,touchscreen display), a receiver (e.g., an RF or infrared receiver),motion sensors, and/or one or more input buttons.

I/O module 908 may include one or more devices for presenting output toa user, including, but not limited to, a graphics engine, a display(e.g., a display screen), one or more output drivers (e.g., displaydrivers), one or more audio speakers, and one or more audio drivers. Incertain embodiments, I/O module 908 is configured to provide graphicaldata to a display for presentation to a user. The graphical data may berepresentative of one or more graphical user interfaces and/or any othergraphical content as may serve a particular implementation.

In some examples, any of the systems, computing devices, and/or othercomponents described herein may be implemented by computing device 900.For example, storage facility 102 of system 100 may be implemented bystorage device 906. Likewise, processing facility 104 of system 100 maybe implemented by processor 904.

To the extent the aforementioned embodiments collect, store, and/oremploy personal information provided by individuals, it should beunderstood that such information shall be used in accordance with allapplicable laws concerning protection of personal information.Additionally, the collection, storage, and use of such information maybe subject to consent of the individual to such activity, for example,through well known “opt-in” or “opt-out” processes as may be appropriatefor the situation and type of information. Storage and use of personalinformation may be in an appropriately secure manner reflective of thetype of information, for example, through various encryption andanonymization techniques for particularly sensitive information.

In the preceding description, various exemplary embodiments have beendescribed with reference to the accompanying drawings. It will, however,be evident that various modifications and changes may be made thereto,and additional embodiments may be implemented, without departing fromthe scope of the invention as set forth in the claims that follow. Forexample, certain features of one embodiment described herein may becombined with or substituted for features of another embodimentdescribed herein. The description and drawings are accordingly to beregarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: determining, by an extendedreality presentation system used by a user, that a depiction of anaugmentable object within a field of view takes up a first portion ofthe field of view, the first portion representing a first apparentproximity of the augmentable object to the user; tracking, by theextended reality presentation system, the augmentable object as theaugmentable object moves in the field of view based on movement of theaugmentable object or a combination of the movement of the augmentableobject and movement of the point of view; presenting within the field ofview, by the extended reality presentation system in response to thedetermining that the depiction of the augmentable object takes up thefirst portion of the field of view and based on the tracking, a firstform of an overlay object that is graphically associated with theaugmentable object by being displayed adjacent to the augmentable objectas the augmentable object moves in the field of view; determining, bythe extended reality presentation system during the presenting of thefirst form of the overlay object within the field of view and based onthe tracking, that the depiction of the augmentable object has come totake up, as a result of the movement of the augmentable object or thecombination of the movement of the augmentable object and the movementof the point of view, a second portion of the field of view, the secondportion representing a second apparent proximity of the augmentableobject to the user, the second apparent proximity distinct from thefirst apparent proximity; and replacing within the field of view, by theextended reality presentation system in response to the determining thatthe depiction of the augmentable object has come to take up the secondportion of the field of view and based on the tracking, the first formof the overlay object with a second form of the overlay object that isdistinct from the first form at least by being graphically associatedwith the augmentable object by being overlaid onto the augmentableobject as the augmentable object moves in the field of view.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein: the first form of the overlay object istailored to the first apparent proximity of the augmentable object tothe user; and the second form of the overlay object is tailored to thesecond apparent proximity of the augmentable object to the user.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, wherein: the first apparent proximity serves as aproxy for a first actual proximity of the augmentable object to theuser, the first apparent proximity approximating the first actualproximity while not perfectly corresponding to the first actualproximity; and the second apparent proximity serves as a proxy for asecond actual proximity of the augmentable object to the user, thesecond apparent proximity approximating the second actual proximitywhile not perfectly corresponding to the second actual proximity.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: presenting, by the extendedreality presentation system to the user, the field of view as a field ofview into an extended reality world; and identifying, by the extendedreality presentation system, the augmentable object from a set ofobjects presented in the field of view into the extended reality world;wherein the determining that the depiction of the augmentable objecttakes up the first portion of the field of view is performed in responseto the identifying of the augmentable object.
 5. The method of claim 4,further comprising: determining, by the extended reality presentationsystem concurrent with the presenting of the field of view and prior tothe identifying of the augmentable object, that the augmentable objectis included within the extended reality world outside the field of view;and presenting within the field of view, by the extended realitypresentation system in response to the determining that the augmentableobject is included within the extended reality world outside the fieldof view, a preview form of the overlay object to be graphicallyassociated with the augmentable object when the augmentable object issubsequently presented in the field of view.
 6. The method of claim 5,wherein the determining that the augmentable object is included withinthe extended reality world outside the field of view comprisescomparing: real-time geolocation data generated by a sensor of theextended reality presentation system for the extended realitypresentation system; and real-time geolocation data accessed by theextended reality presentation system for the augmentable object.
 7. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the first and second forms of the overlayobject are dynamically-scaled forms of the overlay object thatcontinuously scale with a target area of the augmentable object.
 8. Themethod of claim 1, wherein: the extended reality presentation system isa mixed reality presentation system; the field of view depicts anextended reality world comprising an augmented version of a real-worldenvironment in which a user of the extended reality presentation systemis located; and the method further comprises presenting, by the extendedreality presentation system, the field of view to the user, thepresenting including displaying the overlay object on a heads-up displayscreen that provides a view of the overlay object integrated with thereal-world environment.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein: the methodfurther comprises determining, by the extended reality presentationsystem, that the second apparent proximity satisfies a predeterminedproximity threshold that is not satisfied by the first apparentproximity; and the replacing within the field of view of the first formof the overlay object with the second form of the overlay object isperformed in response to the determining that the second apparentproximity satisfies the predetermined proximity threshold.
 10. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the second form of the overlay object isdistinct from the first form of the overlay object further in at leastone of the following ways: the second form includes different contentthan the first form; the second form includes a different type ofcontent than the first form; the second form includes a different designthan the first form; or the second form is a different scale withrespect to the augmentable object than the first form.
 11. The method ofclaim 1, wherein: the field of view is presented on a display screen;the first portion of the field of view that the depiction of theaugmentable object is determined to take up is a first overallpercentage of usable display space of the display screen; and the secondportion of the field of view that the depiction of the augmentableobject is determined to have come to take up is a second overallpercentage of usable display space of the display screen.
 12. A systemcomprising: a memory storing instructions; and a processorcommunicatively coupled to the memory and configured to execute theinstructions to: determine that a depiction of an augmentable objectwithin a field of view takes up a first portion of the field of view,the first portion representing a first apparent proximity of theaugmentable object to a user of the system; track the augmentable objectas the augmentable object moves in the field of view based on movementof the augmentable object or a combination of the movement of theaugmentable object and movement of the point of view; present within thefield of view, in response to the determining that the depiction of theaugmentable object takes up the first portion of the field of view andbased on the tracking, a first form of an overlay object that isgraphically associated with the augmentable object by being displayedadjacent to the augmentable object as the augmentable object moves inthe field of view; determine, during the presenting of the first form ofthe overlay object within the field of view and based on the tracking,that the depiction of the augmentable object has come to take up, as aresult of the movement of the augmentable object or the combination ofthe movement of the augmentable object and the movement of the point ofview, a second portion of the field of view, the second portionrepresenting a second apparent proximity of the augmentable object tothe user, the second apparent proximity distinct from the first apparentproximity; and replace within the field of view, in response to thedetermining that the depiction of the augmentable object has come totake up the second portion of the field of view and based on thetracking, the first form of the overlay object with a second form of theoverlay object that is distinct from the first form at least by beinggraphically associated with the augmentable object by being overlaidonto the augmentable object as the augmentable object moves in the fieldof view.
 13. The system of claim 12, wherein: the first form of theoverlay object is tailored to the first apparent proximity of theaugmentable object to the user; and the second form of the overlayobject is tailored to the second apparent proximity of the augmentableobject to the user.
 14. The system of claim 12, wherein: the firstapparent proximity serves as a proxy for a first actual proximity of theaugmentable object to the user, the first apparent proximityapproximating the first actual proximity while not perfectlycorresponding to the first actual proximity; and the second apparentproximity serves as a proxy for a second actual proximity of theaugmentable object to the user, the second apparent proximityapproximating the second actual proximity while not perfectlycorresponding to the second actual proximity.
 15. The system of claim12, wherein: the processor is further configured to execute theinstructions to: present the field of view to the user as a field ofview into an extended reality world, and identify the augmentable objectfrom a set of objects presented in the field of view into the extendedreality world; and the determining that the depiction of the augmentableobject takes up the first portion of the field of view is performed inresponse to the identifying of the augmentable object.
 16. The system ofclaim 15, wherein the processor is further configured to execute theinstructions to: determine, concurrent with the presenting of the fieldof view and prior to the identifying of the augmentable object, that theaugmentable object is included within the extended reality world outsidethe field of view; and present within the field of view, in response tothe determining that the augmentable object is included within theextended reality world outside the field of view, a preview form of theoverlay object to be graphically associated with the augmentable objectwhen the augmentable object is subsequently presented in the field ofview.
 17. The system of claim 12, wherein the first and second forms ofthe overlay object are dynamically-scaled forms of the overlay objectthat continuously scale with a target area of the augmentable object.18. The system of claim 12, wherein: the system is a mixed realitypresentation system; the field of view depicts an extended reality worldcomprising an augmented version of a real-world environment in which auser of the mixed reality presentation system is located; and theprocessor is further configured to execute the instructions to presentthe field of view to the user, the presenting including displaying theoverlay object on a heads-up display screen that provides a view of theoverlay object integrated with the real-world environment.
 19. Thesystem of claim 12, wherein: the processor is further configured toexecute the instructions to determine that the second apparent proximitysatisfies a predetermined proximity threshold that is not satisfied bythe first apparent proximity; and the replacing within the field of viewof the first form of the overlay object with the second form of theoverlay object is performed in response to the determining that thesecond apparent proximity satisfies the predetermined proximitythreshold.
 20. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storinginstructions that, when executed, direct a processor of a computingdevice to: determine that a depiction of an augmentable object within afield of view takes up a first portion of the field of view, the firstportion representing a first apparent proximity of the augmentableobject to a user of the computing device; track the augmentable objectas the augmentable object moves in the field of view based on movementof the augmentable object or a combination of the movement of theaugmentable object and movement of the point of view; present within thefield of view, in response to the determining that the depiction of theaugmentable object takes up the first portion of the field of view andbased on the tracking, a first form of an overlay object that isgraphically associated with the augmentable object by being displayedadjacent to the augmentable object as the augmentable object moves inthe field of view; determine, during the presenting of the first form ofthe overlay object within the field of view and based on the tracking,that the depiction of the augmentable object has come to take up as aresult of the movement of the augmentable object or the combination ofthe movement of the augmentable object and the movement of the point ofview, a second portion of the field of view, the second portionrepresenting a second apparent proximity of the augmentable object tothe user, the second apparent proximity distinct from the first apparentproximity; and replace within the field of view, in response to thedetermining that the depiction of the augmentable object has come totake up the second portion of the field of view and based on thetracking, the first form of the overlay object with a second form of theoverlay object that is distinct from the first form at least by beinggraphically associated with the augmentable object by being overlaidonto the augmentable object as the augmentable object moves in the fieldof view.